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Shad Suk Mynsiem
The Khasi thanksgiving dance of Shillong, in which women wear silk jainsem, gold and silver ornaments and crowns.
What is worn for Shad Suk Mynsiem
Shad Suk Mynsiem, meaning the dance of the joyful heart, is the Khasi thanksgiving festival held each April at Shillong, in Meghalaya. Young women, in rows, dance slowly in a circle, with measured steps, while men dance round them and drum. The Khasi women dress in the jainsem or dhara, a layered wrapped dress of silk, with a shawl, and wear silver crowns with a plume, and gold and coral beads. The cloth includes the Khasi silk, the eri, spun and woven in Meghalaya. The dress is pinned or tied at the shoulder and waist. The festival is held on a ground in Shillong and lasts three days, in the second week of April, though the exact days follow the Khasi calendar.
The sarees
Also part of it, and being written: Jainsem (The Khasi woman's layered wrapped dress.).
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Eri silk: Simtastic01, CC BY-SA 4.0, source